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Almost two years ago, to the day, Reuben Bean and Garon Wilkinson introduced Bermuda to the explosive, brutal sport of San Shou with a thrilling exhibition bout at the Police Fight Night.

Now the pair are leading a team of fighters to the World Wushu Championships in Beijing, with places in next year's Olympic tournament on the line.

It's a testament to the prodigious efforts of the two men that the phrase San Shou, now needs little explanation in Bermuda.

From that first fight through several tournaments held locally, including the hugely popular Fight Fest and San Shou Showdown, the small band of ultra-dedicated athletes has slowly popularized the full-contact martial art - the closest thing to ultimate fighting we have seen on the island.

And in the process they have transformed themselves from novices to world-class competitors.

In the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, in Beijing, next week, all their efforts - the gruelling 30-hour-a-week training regimens, the punishing mental and physical preparation, the laborious administrative details - will come to fruition in the most important tournament of their lives.

Bean, who fractured his jaw in a competition earlier this year is unable to fight and will travel as head coach.

The Bermuda team - Wilkinson, Sentwali Woolridge, Leroy Maxwell and Jermal Woolridge - will compete in four different weight divisions with fields of 40-60 fighters in each category.

They will be up against the best from each of the participating countries - including hosts China, Vietnam and the Philippines, the traditional powerhouses of the sport.

The atmosphere in the new Olympic gym is likely to be intense - a cross between Cup Match and Teacher's Fight Night.

"Wushu is the national sport in China, consisting of Taolu (forms) and San Shou (full contact fighting). The guys come with cowbells and blow horns. It's intense.

"This will definitely be the biggest fight of my life," says Wilkinson, who perhaps represents Bermuda's best chance of a medal.

"If we are able to execute like we have in training, we will have no problem placing in the medals.

"So many different factors come into it on the day, but personally, I feel if I perform the way I have been, I could win."

Bean, who reprised his exhibition with Wilkinson last Saturday at this year's Police Fight Night, agrees.

"His striking power has improved tremendously over the past few months. If he remains comfortable and allows his techniques to flow, he'll have a good chance of qualifying and possibly winning his division."

The team has been going through a phased 12-week training regimen in the run-up to the tournament.

Bean explained that they have been pulling 30-hour weeks combining plyometrics, shuttle-runs, cross-training at various martial arts, boxing training, sparring and meditation.

Bean said: "It's an individual sport in one sense, but we perform all of our training sessions together. This provides a viable support system for the fighters and allows for them to feed off each other's energy and strong points while also encouraging improvement on the weaker elements of their game."

For Wilkinson, the importance of training properly cannot be under-estimated. He believes the visceral nature of the sport -where momentary loss of focus can be fatal - has helped create a unique intensity and dedication among the fighters.

"The difference in our sport is that you run the risk of dying in the ring if you're not ready.

"You can skip a few cricket training sessions and come out a little overweight but in San Shou you really run the risk of getting seriously hurt if you are not physically and mentally prepared.

"That climate of fear has helped motivate us guys and get us ready."

Bean is desperately disappointed not to be fighting, but nonetheless proud to see the sport he and Wilkinson introduced to Bermuda reach such a milestone in such a small space of time.

"We have moved carefully and expeditiously towards creating world class training regimens and schedules that have strategically elevated us to the demanding world standard."

Wilkinson added: "Full-contact was non-existent in Bermuda until two years ago. All our athletes have a martial arts background but this has taken them to a whole new level.

"The World Championships was always our goal. But we never expected to get the support that we have had. A lot has happened since that first fight and we've come a long way."

The San Shou championships begins November 11 with the opening ceremony, weigh-ins and lot-drawing to decide the first-round match-ups and continues through to finals day on November 17.

The top eight qualify for next year's Olympic tournament. Currently only two weight divisions - 70kg and 85kg - involving Bermuda fighters are official Olympic categories, meaning only Sentwali Woolridge and Leroy Maxwell can qualify, though this is currently under review by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). China was recently awarded eight qualifying spots to the final tournament, so this will open additional divisions to the member countries.

Ninth World Wushu Championships

November 11-17, 2007, in Beijing, China

Bermuda team:

Sentwali Woolridge: 70kg

Garon Wilkinson: 75kg

Leroy Maxwell: 85kg

Jermal Woolridge: 95kg and above

Head Coach: Reuben Bean

Manager: Oscar Lightbourne

Asst Coach: Damion Wilson

Boxing Coach: Allan "Forty" Rego

Strength and conditioning coach: Devrae Noel-Simmons

Masseuse: Susan Bunting[[In-content Ad]]

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